Today I'd like to share two blogs that may be helpful to you as you plan your next quarter of instruction:

Last week I had the pleasure of sitting in on a presentation from an Apple Education representative. He showed us various ways technology, particularly the iPad can be better integrated to enhance our instruction and allow us to do things we couldn't do without it. So... if you are trying to integrate those 7 iPads in your classroom, I would love to help! I'd be happy to support you with integrating them beyond just substitution for things you previously did. When using any technology in your classroom, think "What can I do now that I couldn't do before?" Check out this blog, iTeach with iPads by Apple Distinguished Educator Kristi Meeuwse, a Kindergarten teacher in South Carolina, for more ideas.

A couple of weeks ago, a fellow coach shared a blog with me. Two Writing Teachers is written by several teachers who share their insight into all things writing. They have some helpful hints for using the Lucy Calkins curriculum, too! Check out the post, How to Read a Unit of Study. This is a super thorough explanation of how to dig into the Units. I think several of your questions may be answered about the mini-lessons through this post.

If you're anything like me, you love learning about new games that can be used in your classroom. I'm always on the lookout for games that get kids thinking critically. Here are a few games you might want to ask for this holiday season.

QwirkleRecently, I came across the game Qwirkle while perusing some of the education blogs I follow. My grandmother, who also loves games, was coming to visit for a couple of weeks at the end of November, and I knew she would be a good test subject for the game. After the first game I was hooked. It is domino-like strategy game that forces the player to look for and build onto patterns of color or shape. Not only is the game a fun challenge that tickles the pattern-loving part of the brain, but it also creates a beautiful mosaic of color and shapes when played. It's also accessible to students of all ages.

For a more in-depth review, check out this post from the blog Toys Are Tools.

SETSet is one of my all-time favorite games. It is another game that involves patterning with colors, shapes, and shading. This game is more complex than Qwirkle because it has three pattern categories that cannot overlap, rather than just two. However, it is a fun and addictive. It is easy to get out and put away and the rounds go quickly, with games lasting 10-15 minutes depending on the skill level of those involved.

Check out setgame.com for more information about the game, including a list of 37 awards it has won.

BananagramsBananagrams is a fast-paced Scrable-esque game that gets players frantically creating and recreating words in order to be the first to use all of their letter tiles. This game is great for spelling practice and would be a great extension activity for your Word Work.